A Different School Commute

Miles Walked: 16.8	Biked: 25.3	Bused: 8.4	Drove: 3.6	This week
16.8	25.3	8.4	3.6	Since August 14, 2011

There must be something in my nature, or the way I was nurtured, but I don't like to do the same things twice. Not in exactly the same way. Be it cooking, reading, or traveling, I enjoy a little twist, or the discovery of something new because I did something different. I feel that there are so many things to learn and experience that it's worth trying as many as I can. This sense of adventure comes and goes, but it's fully active now. I am feeling energized to make this car-free month one worth writing about.

If you haven't had enough of our back and forth to school, read on my friends, read on. Otherwise, check out Let's Go Ride a Bike, where our family and Huntington were mentioned in their Summer Games contest today.

How They Got There
Brent walked the children and his bike to the bus stop this morning and rode with them to school. This was his first bus ride in Huntington since 2007 or 08. He spent last night looking at videos on how to load his bike onto the bus bike rack. Very techno nerdy, but he felt more confident this morning. It never occurred to me that there would be videos, but there are many many of them, except of course, on our very own TTA site. Once the children were at school, about 8:06AM today, he rode to work down Norway which turned into 20th Street.

"Chaotic" sidewalk on Wiltshire.

Note: Wednesday is garbage pick up day.

Hard to find shade with this intense sun.

How We Got Home
The return from school to home, I walked Avery and Oliver up to school with the single stroller. It was lighter and more compact, but harder to manage over "chaotic" sidewalks. This also meant Avery had to walk the entire trip, which he did without complaining. I took the whole trip at his pace and we stopped often as the sun was intense today. We even wondered down that new asphalt patch we saw this week to see where this new section of the PATH might go. It was a dead end by the way. We got to school just after dismissal time, so the walk took about 50 minutes as this pace, versus the 40 when I push them up in the double stroller at my own.

We play the punch buggy game on all our walks. It was a top down kind of day, most certainly.

Someday I will walk through this arch. It's so inviting to me.

The new section of the PATH.

Drats, dead end.

Avery insisted on taking a break here.

Avery's not a great driving, but I love his efforts.

We spied the #2 as we were walking on Norway to get the children from school .

Avery wanted to jog along side the stroller while we were going up hill. Determination.

Snack time.

London is so very excited to be playing the clarinet in school band this year.

Waiting for the return bus. Note Oliver playing London's head like a piano.

I took the single stroller because it folds tight and I decided to bus everyone home today. The #2 would come by school at 3:45ish which gave me time to chat with teachers and provide everyone with an after school snack while still at school. The children were thrilled with my surprise. They really love the bus. We paid our $3 and pretended it was the Night Bus from Harry Potter the whole 2.1 miles to our stop. It didn't require a lot of imagination, that bus feels fast and stops just as quick.

More drink breaks and some hat tossing.

After our bus departure we had a nice shady .8 mile walk home. Stopping for water and hat tosses along the way. I left the house at 2:15 and we arrived home at 4:30. I am glad that I have plenty of time to spend. Grandma enjoyed the peace and quite at home. After we arrived it wasn't quiet again till 9:30PM.

What the Future Holds
Tomorrow will be our fourth day of school commuting, and we are doing it differently again. I just can't find the "right" way for us and I am having a good time working it out.